The world now seems to be awash with quality wearables, be it from the likes of Apple, Samsung, Withings or Garmin, which all look to add a little bit of smart tech to our daily lives.
However, the options present in the budget space are perhaps a little less clear cut, and the market is possibly crying out for an affordable smartwatch that's packed with features.
Well, it now looks like Motorola could be getting in on the act with their own new and affordable smartwatch, known as the Moto Watch 100, according to a new leak.
What Is The Moto Watch 100?
The Moto Watch 100 hasn't been officially announced, but a leak from 91Mobiles looks to have revealed some renders for the wearable, alongside a spec sheet that in part concurs with previous discussions.
In a general sense, the Moto Watch 100 is purported to be one of the three watches Motorola are launching in partnership with CE Brands to offer a successor to their older 360 line of smartwatches.
What this new leak has provided us with, most interestingly, are early renders of what the Moto Watch 100 could look like. These offer up the image of Motorola's new affordable smartwatch being quite a good-looking device, with it said to have an aluminium case with no rotating bezel alongside a patterned rubber strap, as demonstrated by the associated pictures.
Earlier renders pointed to a smartwatch with circular buttons and a rotating bezel, two features that the Moto Watch 100 isn't said to have, but it is possible that those earlier leaks may correspond to one of the two other watches Motorola are touted to be launching alongside the Moto Watch 100.
The leak also provided some detailed information on the specs of the Moto Watch 100, more of which is discussed below.
The information comes in the wake of some early leaks of the Google Pixel Watch, Google's long-teased entry into the wearable world.
What Are The Moto Watch 100's Specs?
As well as providing some interesting renders, the new leak also provides some info on the specs front, too, offering up some detailed information.
Most pertinently, there doesn't look to be an AMOLED display on the Moto Watch 100 with this smartwatch opting for a 1.3 inch circular LCD display with a 360x360 resolution.
Alongside this, the leak suggests there could be a 355mAh battery, and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, as opposed to the earlier reported Bluetooth 5.2, and it should run Google's Wear OS as well as being 5ATM waterproof.
When it comes to connectivity, the Moto Watch 100 is said to offer up GPS functionality as well as an accelerometer, heart rate sensor, gyroscope, HRM, SP02, and ambient light sensors. There should also be sleep tracking and a step counter built-in, too.
On the front of a processor, it doesn't look like Motorola's newest wearable will utilise the Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus chipset from Qualcomm, and this could be reserved for the other models in Motorola's lineup.
All of the above specs suggest Motorola are pitching this new wearable to be a more affordable pick, perhaps behind the other two new watches that are supposedly coming with the Watch 100, namely the Watch 100S and the Watch 200.
When Is The Moto G100 Watch's Release Date?
As these are just leaks, there isn't too much information by way of a release date for the Moto G100 Watch, but considering that the renders supplied look like official marketing material, it may suggest a time that is closer than expected.
The Moto G100 Watch has been scheduled to begin mass production this month, November 2021, according to a CE Brands update in October. The update also indicates it may be possible to bring the watch to market by the end of March 2022, alongside Motorola's two other new ones.
There isn't also any real news on pricing for Motorola's upcoming wallet-friendly smartwatch, but for the brand to stay competitive, sticking in the £100-£150 range would make sense, given the feature set.
As and when we do hear a concrete update on pricing and the release date, we'll be sure to let you know
Analysis - A Proper Fitbit Competitor?
Motorola seems to be in the news more and more as the days go by, with exciting developments such as the unveiling of their Moto Edge X phone, and the launch of 312 Labs, their new business arm devoted to exciting tech such as VR and AR.
Now, they look to have brought themselves back down to earth with these early leaks of the Moto Watch 100 being put into the spotlight. As an outsider looking in, this looks to be a pretty decent deal judging by the spec sheet, and it could offer up a good user experience.
For generalists, its raft of tracking options should be plenty and GPS functionality will certainly be handy, and its 1.3 inch circular LCD display should certainly be usable in most settings.
For a good while now, the world of affordable wearables has been dominated by Fitbits, and other brands have struggled to topple the domination they've managed to establish, but a revitalised Motorola could be the brand to lead the charge.
The only trouble with this is that there's an awful lot of smartwatches that run Google's Wear OS, be it Fossil's brand new Gen 6 timepieces, or a spate of competitors from Skagen, Michael Kors, TicWatch, and now, Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4.
What the Moto Watch 100 should have on its side is the combo of plenty of features and an affordable price point. Sure, it may not pack the newest of Qualcomm processors, but a 355mAh battery capacity puts it alongside some of the best smartwatches available today.
In addition, if the two other mid-range models can forge out their own path and occupy that space within the market, then Motorola could well be onto a winner here. Moreover, it could, if the watches are received well, signal their return as a mainstream lifestyle brand, like Samsung.
In fact, there is a remarkable similarity between what Motorola is looking to do and what Samsung has already done. For a start, brands have WearOS based smartwatches and both firms are endeavouring to position foldable phones as the future, for instance.
The only thing Motorola don't have on their hands at the moment is an all-conquering flagship device. Sure, the Edge 20 Pro was a decent attempt at offering an affordable flagship device, but hopefully, 2022 will provide us with a proper competitor to the likes of theGoogle Pixel 6 and iPhone 13 from one of tech's longest-standing manufacturers.
In essence, the Moto Watch 100 be a watch that's designed to set the world alight, being more of a budget pick, but that shouldn't stop Motorola from trying to forge out a new path.
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